Princess Marie of Prussia (''Marie Elisabeth Luise Friederike''; 14 September 1855,

Marmorpalais The Marmorpalais (or Marble Palace) is a former royal residence in Potsdam, near Berlin in Germany, built on the grounds of the extensive Neuer Garten on the shores of the Heiliger See. The palace was commissioned by King Frederick William II of ...

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

– 20 June 1888,

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

), was a princess of the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...

. She was the daughter of

Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The f ...

and later became second wife of Prince Henry of the Netherlands then the first wife of

Prince Albert of Saxe-Altenburg Prince Albert of Saxe-Altenburg (Albert Heinrich Joseph Carl Viktor Georg Friedrich; 14 April 1843 in Munich – 22 May 1902 in Serrahn) was a German prince of the ducal house of Saxe-Altenburg. Biography Family and early life Prince Albert was ...

. She was also the grandniece of

William I, German Emperor Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. ...

Life

Portrait of Hendrik van Oranje-Nassau and Marie van Pruisen

Princess Marie was the eldest daughter of Prussian field-marshal

(1828–1885) and Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau (1837–1906). Marie's mother was the youngest daughter of

Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt Leopold IV Frederick, Duke of Anhalt (1 October 179422 May 1871) was a German prince of the House of Ascania. From 1817 until 1853 he was ruler of the duchy of Anhalt-Dessau and from 1847 until 1853 also ruler of the duchy of Anhalt-Köthen. Fro ...

and Princess Frederica of Prussia, Duchess of Anhalt-Dessau. On 24 August 1878, Princess Marie married Prince Henry of Orange-Nassau at the Neuen Palais (1820–1879), who had since 1850 been Governor of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and Admiralleutnant zur See. He was the third son of the King

William II of the Netherlands William II (; English: William Frederick George Louis; 6 December 1792 – 17 March 1849), known as Koning Willem de Tweede or Koning Willem II in the Netherlands, was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg. Wi ...

and Grand Duchess

Anna Pavlovna of Russia Anna Pavlovna of Russia ( ; ; – 1 March 1865) was Queen of the Netherlands by marriage to King William II of the Netherlands. She was a Russian patriot who upheld a strict royal etiquette in the Netherlands, where she never felt at home, ...

. The marriage between Marie and Henry was arranged in an attempt to save the

House of Orange-Nassau The House of Orange-Nassau (, ), also known as the House of Orange because of the prestige of the princely title of Orange, also referred to as the Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held the Principality of Or ...

from extinction, but it was to prove childless: barely five months later, in January 1879, Prince Henry died after contracting

measles Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...

. Six years later, on 6 May 1885, Princess Marie married

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

(1843–1902), a son of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg and his second wife, Princess Luise Caroline Reuss zu Greiz. This marriage was to all reports a harmonious one and produced two daughters: * Princess Olga of Saxe-Altenburg (1886–1955); married on 20 May 1913 Count Carl Friedrich von Pückler-Burghauss (1886–1945). * Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg (1888–1947); married on 20 April 1911 in Altenburg, Prince Heinrich XXXV Reuss of Köstritz (b. 1 August 1887, Mauer – d. 17 January 1936,

Loschwitz Loschwitz is a borough (''Geography and urban development of Dresden#City structuring, Stadtbezirk'') of Dresden, Germany, incorporated in 1921. It consists of ten quarters (''Stadtteile''): Loschwitz is a villa quarter located at the slopes nor ...

) son of

Heinrich VII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz Heinrich VII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (; 14 July 1825 – 2 May 1906) was a German diplomat. Early life Prince Heinrich VII Principality of Reuss-Gera, Reuss of Köstritz was born at Klipphausen on 14 July 1825. He was the fifth child a ...

). They had one daughter before divorcing in 1921: **Marie Helene Reuss of Köstritz (b. 23 February 1912,

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

- d. 1 August 1933, Korfantow) The princess died at Schloss Abrechtesberg on 20 June 1888 from the effects of

puerperal fever The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to last for six to eight weeks. There are three distinct phases of the postnatal period; the acute phase, lasting for six to twelve hours after birth; the ...

and was buried in the Saxe-Altenburg family vault. Her second husband remarried in 1891 to Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in RemplinThePeerage.com – Helene, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
/ref> (1857–1936), a niece of Friedrich Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and granddaughter of

Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia (; – ) was a Russian grand duke, the tenth child and fourth son of Paul I of Russia and his second wife, Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg), Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg, who took ...

. Princess Marie was the godmother to her nephew

Prince Arthur of Connaught Prince Arthur of Connaught (Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert; 13 January 1883 – 12 September 1938) was a British military officer and a grandson of Queen Victoria. He served as Governor-General of the Union of South Africa from 20 November 19 ...

, only son of her sister

Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia (Louise Margaret Alexandra Victoria Agnes; 25 July 1860 – 14 March 1917), later Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn, was a member of the House of Hohenzollern who married into the British royal family. She ...

. The christening occurred in the private chapel at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

Ancestry

Bibliography

* C. Arnold McNaughton: ''The Book of Kings: A Royal Genealogy'', in 3 volumes (London, U.K.: Garnstone Press, 1973), volume 1, page 66.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marie Of Prussia, Princess 1855 births 1888 deaths House of Hohenzollern Princesses of the Netherlands Prussian princesses People from Potsdam Princesses of Saxe-Altenburg Deaths in childbirth Royal reburials